A little over a week ago we told you about how one Tesla customer had his steering wheel fall off while driving. Now, that story has what sounds like a mostly happy ending but there’s some confusion too. Evidently, Tesla doesn’t consider a steering wheel that falls off as a defect or warrantable condition.
As a quick recap, the owner, who goes by the handle Preneh24 on Twitter, had his car for less than a week when the steering wheel fell off. He reached out to Tesla service and was initially quoted $103.96 to fix the issue. At that point, he asked for a refund or for a replacement for the Model Y altogether.
Now, we know that Tesla did reach back out and offer to cover the repair charges. In addition, it agreed to buy back the Model Y and provide him with an all-new example. What’s kind of wild is that in a letter allegedly from Tesla to the owner, it specifically says that the “vehicle contains no defect, non-conformity or other warrantable condition, or any other basis for Tesla’s liability.”
More: A Tesla Steering Wheel Fell Off While Driving – Again
If a steering wheel falling off mid-journey isn’t a defect we’re not sure what would qualify. In the letter, first noticed by InsideEVs, Tesla says that “as a gesture of goodwill to you as a valued Tesla customer… Tesla agrees to repurchase the vehicle.” It’s also worth noting that the repair invoice posted by Preneh24 seems to show that Tesla “replaced or added” the bolt that holds the wheel to the steering column.
That part, number 1036655-00-A, seems to be the main issue. Diagrams show that it’s directly responsible for attaching the wheel to the column. In photos posted by the owner, we can’t see the bolt at all. Whether it was never installed or simply fell into the wheel assembly itself after perhaps backing out or being stripped we can’t say.
All of this sounds a bit wacky and Tesla’s response certainly seems strange. To that end, we’ve reached out to the automaker in hopes of getting more information. Of course, Tesla doesn’t have a public relations team to communicate with so we’re not expecting much. Nevertheless, if we do hear back we’ll be sure to update you on the latest.